This month's Dungeon - no adventures?

[Monkey King]

They stated from the beginning that it was going to be an every other month periodical, with articles (Dragon) and adventures (Dungeon) coming out during the two month stretch. These are the November-December issues. Still a whole month to go.

This is simply not true.

They stated at the beginning that it was going to be monthly. They more recently said that it was going bi-monthly, though it's not clear why they dialed back the pace of releases.

 

[JoeGKushner]

How have they dropped the ball?

They stated from the beginning that it was going to be an every other month periodical, with articles (Dragon) and adventures (Dungeon) coming out during the two month stretch. These are the November-December issues. Still a whole month to go.

Now, I agree that they were supposed to compile the Sept-Oct articles into single PDFs for download and they haven't yet. But I can still view these articles online, so it's no skin of my back.

Dpeends on who you ask.

Some, like me, think that they've had long enough time, that even with the "best" or "majority" of their skills/focus going onto 4e, that by cancelling the Dungeon/Dragon magazines, that the first e-mags should've been mind blowingly good.

Some, like me, think that they've missed the boat.

 

[catsclaw227]

This is simply not true.

They stated at the beginning that it was going to be monthly. They more recently said that it was going bi-monthly, though it's not clear why they dialed back the pace of releases.

I've been digging around and looking for the initial announcements and can't find what I am looking for.

I was under the impression that they originally stated that they didn't know what the production schedule would be, and that they then opted for a bi-monthly release.

Truly, I could be wrong, but in my head I always thought that they would be releasing them (early on) in whatever pace they could, considering their 4e timelines.

 

[catsclaw227]

Some, like me, think that they've had long enough time, that even with the "best" or "majority" of their skills/focus going onto 4e, that by cancelling the Dungeon/Dragon magazines, that the first e-mags should've been mind blowingly good.

Some, like me, think that they've missed the boat.

Fair enough.

Personally, I would rather they focus on making 4e the best they can, post what Dragon and Dungeon articles they can, and then when they launch DDI as a paid subscription, make the content exeptional.

Now, I am a huge Paizo fan. I wish they had kept them from the beginning, and none of this would be an issue, but at this point I am not holding a resentment about it. Pathfinder and Gamemastery have been a more than good enough replacement for me.

 

[Monkey King]

Personally, I would rather they focus on making 4e the best they can, post what Dragon and Dungeon articles they can, and then when they launch DDI as a paid subscription, make the content exeptional.

This sort of assumes that no one is playing 3E in the meantime, and that the audience no longer wants or needs non-edition-specific or 3E game materials.

It also assumes that the only people who can write the DDI material are WotC staffers (ie, people who are otherwise working to make 4E as good as it can be). There is, however, a large and talented group of freelancers who can and do write the majority of WotC's D&D material.

So, why not ask them to deliver some great DDI material while the in-house staff does the big 4E push? They're going to need those folks to make the paid DDI subscription exceptional, after all.

 

[JoeGKushner]

Fair enough.

Personally, I would rather they focus on making 4e the best they can, post what Dragon and Dungeon articles they can, and then when they launch DDI as a paid subscription, make the content exeptional.

Now, I am a huge Paizo fan. I wish they had kept them from the beginning, and none of this would be an issue, but at this point I am not holding a resentment about it. Pathfinder and Gamemastery have been a more than good enough replacement for me.

When it's launched as a paid subscription, if all you've seen in months does not convince you it's worth it, hasn't that been a huge missed opportunity for WoTC then?

I mean, are they going to go, "For those of you who've been disatisfied with the products thus far, good new! We're going to be awesome! But now you have to pay."

 

[Mouseferatu]

So, why not ask them to deliver some great DDI material while the in-house staff does the big 4E push? They're going to need those folks to make the paid DDI subscription exceptional, after all.

Thing is, they are getting freelancers to do the DDI material. (I alone had part one of "Iggwilv's Legacy" last issue, and an adventure "The Last Breaths of Ashenport" next issue.)

I don't know why things had to slow down, unless it's purely a bandwidth issue. :\ (I don't mean literal bandwidth, I mean the editing/development team not being able to keep up with the number of articles/adventures that would go into a monthly periodical.)

 

[carmachu]

How have they dropped the ball?

They stated from the beginning that it was going to be an every other month periodical, with articles (Dragon) and adventures (Dungeon) coming out during the two month stretch. These are the November-December issues. Still a whole month to go.

Now, I agree that they were supposed to compile the Sept-Oct articles into single PDFs for download and they haven't yet. But I can still view these articles online, so it's no skin of my back.

Would you pay good money for this?

I wouldnt. Its no where near the quality I've gotten in the past. And I'm not the only one complaining.

This is the free preveiw time, to wow us into buying. So far...its NOT lived up to the hype that was claimed back when they announced the magazines being canceled in print form. Something "REALLY REALLY COOL AND AWESOME!!!"

So yes, they've dropped the ball so far.

 

[Glyfair]

Thing is, they are getting freelancers to do the DDI material. (I alone had part one of "Iggwilv's Legacy" last issue, and an adventure "The Last Breaths of Ashenport" next issue.)

Nic Logue had the other adventure the first month, so it's clearly not an issue with not using freelancers, I agree.

I don't know why things had to slow down, unless it's purely a bandwidth issue. :\ (I don't mean literal bandwidth, I mean the editing/development team not being able to keep up with the number of articles/adventures that would go into a monthly periodical.)

Which does have concerns of its own. If they can't keep up now then why should we assume they will be able to keep up in the future?

I understand they needed some time to get things moving. However, the flaws I'd expect to see would be those dealing with the online delivery method (such as the formatting issues many have complained about). They should have been able to overcome the hurdle of material being available.

I'm willing to give them a chance to get things going. Things better pick up soon, though. January's issue better be spectacular. I also don't count things that were regular free updates online as magazine content. The new magazine content and free online content should exceed the old magazine content plus the old online content. Otherwise it proves the point of those who complain that WotC is trying to charge us money and give us less.

 

[catsclaw227]

Would you pay good money for this?

I wouldnt. Its no where near the quality I've gotten in the past. And I'm not the only one complaining.

So you are saying that the quality of the Lost Cavern's Adventure, at 93 pages (94 pages minus a cover) with no pages burned for TOC or credits, is no where near the quality of the Dungeon adventures? or that it wasn't worth, let's just guess the cost of DDI online, say $10?

OK, how about another 39 page full color adventure, added in, called Hell's Heart (by Paizo's Pathfinder and GameMastery author, Nick Logue)?

Most 96 page adventures PDFs, black and white, are selling for $12.99-$14.99 on RPGNow. Look at Goodman Games' new Dark Tower and Dungeon Crawl Classics #13: Crypt of the Devil Lich, or maybe Necromancer Games' most recent Elemental Moon at $11.99 for about 80 pages (83 minus cover, OGL, and TOC)

A Paizo GameMastery module, at 32 full-color pages, costs $8.99 for the PDF.

So, with this "terrible" edition of DDI (Dungeon and Dragon) you got:

• Legacy of Iggwilv - Lost Caverns - full color 93 page adventure.
• Hell's Heart - full color 39 page adventure
• Ecology of the Death Knight
• Demonomicon of Iggwilv
• Fortress of the Yuan -Ti adventure tie in
• Dungeoncraft
• Maps of Mystery
• Two Save my Game articles

If ANY other company of quality offered this up for $10, the community would be singing the praises of all that is holy. But no.... here at WOTC online we get:

I wouldnt. Its no where near the quality I've gotten in the past. And I'm not the only one complaining.

That's a good thing as I saw precious little in the 1st editions of either E-Drag or E-Dun that I would have wanted to pay for.

Some, like me, think that they've missed the boat.

It all sounds like sour grapes to me. Maybe it just proves how spoiled everyone was with Dragon and Dungeon, that we lost sight of value of good articles and adventures in general.